Another Penguin is born. Maiden should be tomorrow pending weather. Stock motor and build with the exception of a CF piece in the stab. I also moved the elevator to the top. With a 3s 5200 pushed all the way in the nose the CG is right about 85mm give or take.

can people tell me what they think about this setup for the penguin if I do buy one.
1 rangelink uhf
2 storm osd
2.4ghz 1.5w video downlink
diversity receiver with headplay goggles
2x 5000mah 3s lipos.
will it lift??? and will there be any problems with anything???
thanks

Too much Tx power. 500 Mw is plenty. Everything will fit easy and have room to spare.

FlyByNight2 -
Man that sucks! Do you have an airspeed module installed? I was also curious about the folks having the same or similar problem to mine: Are you using two servos for the ailerons connected via a Y cable or are you using two separate RC channels to control the servos individually. Just trying to find common denominators.
-Peter

No Airspeed module.
I am using 2 separate servos and channels, and set up as flaperons.

yes, broke the "Keel Beam' (as Boeing would call it) Had to cut the sides and glue a patch on both sides of the board.
Then re-glue the foam body back together.

If you are running a larger motor like a 3536, the 6600 will likely work well. I'm running a 3530 with lightweight HK Compact 2700's x2 and have 30% left after 25 - 30 minutes even in the cold (~30 deg F).

On the APM 2.5, mine works excellent right out of the box, no PID tuning and very few changes. A friend (D-Man) and I checked out RTL today and it worked flawlessly. To be safe I tried it at 800ft and it quickly made a u-turn and came dead straight back to home, diving gently to my preset 330 ft height levelling off and then circuling over home. I then tried it from about 280 and it gently powered up, rose to 330 leveled and again circled. It was a beautiful thing!

Mark_q, do you happen to have the param file that you'd share? I have a APM2.5 and am currently building my Penguin.

Does the size of the patch antenna count?? I use to run a 5.8ghz 500mw tx with a 12dbi patch antenna which was like 10cm by 10cm and got like 20m range... had I used a larger 12dbi patch would I have much better range???

Does the size of the patch antenna count?? I use to run a 5.8ghz 500mw tx with a 12dbi patch antenna which was like 10cm by 10cm and got like 20m range... had I used a larger 12dbi patch would I have much better range???

this is why I bout a 1.5w so I can get a better range

Be careful, a 1.5w TX could badly overwhelm your onboard RX.

The relationship between distance and TX power is not 1:1. To double the distance you need approx 4 times the power given the same antenna configuration. So if you are getting 5 miles in a 200mw TX and you want to double the range to 10 miles by increasing power, you need at least 800mw.

There are many folks getting upwards of 12km (7.5 mile) on 200mw and they do this with antenna tunning. Antenna size, while it will make a difference, it could work against you if the tunning is not on par with the smaller antenna. If you can find someone with an SWR meter for your particular frequency, you can do this tunning and always improve your performance.

I know the distance ration, but I never thought of the fact that it will disturb my uhf receiver.
can a video tx affect the camera itself in any way if its to close??? and what about the GPS???
also, do antennas give you more range when they stand vertically???
thanks for your help in advance

I know the distance ration, but I never thought of the fact that it will disturb my uhf receiver.
can a video tx affect the camera itself in any way if its to close??? and what about the GPS???
also, do antennas give you more range when they stand vertically???
thanks for your help in advance

Antennas in FPV are as important as the right prop for your electric motor. Even more so actually.

Case in point.

I bought a 200mw 5.8 Tx/Rx from HK and no matter what I did could not get more then 100 yards with a clear picture. I bought a set of CP clover leaf antennas and it was only slightly better but on the first flight I lost the Tx antenna. I went back to the stock Tx antenna and kept the CP Rx antenna. Reception was even worse. I gave up on it.

Fast forward a few months and much more experience and I traded the 5.8 set for a home made 900 MHz patch. The guy who made the patch made several antennas for the 5.8 and is now getting more than half a mile.

Successful maiden (Flown with DL)

ok thanks. now to decide whether I want a skywalker, bixler 2, or just go ahead and order the penguin. really tough decision

Well if I may sway your decision read below. Remember, ordering a Penguin from RMRC guarantees great service, supports a small North American business, and will be at your place much quicker than HK.

Went out to the field with the LOS equipped Penguin this afternoon. A quick ground and range check and I was ready to go. As stated before this is a completely stock setup running a 3s 5200 stuffed all the way in the nose. She is still a bit tail heavy.

Throttle up, roll, a few bounces and it's off in the air in about 30 ft or so. A few clicks of trim and it flies hands off. The best way to describe it is it flies like a big Easy Star. Landing in a slight head wind requires some down elevator to keep it coming down even with power off.